Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1887-08-25


How She pisperts Herself ON an Atlantic Beach.
letter to San Francisco Argonaut.
Here comes one now-iust look at
her! She wears a suit OF scarlet and
white striped ticking. cnt out in a
square round the base of her throat,
and with short sleeves. On her
shoulders are puffs of some red ma
terial, a ruffle OF which is gathered up
round the neck. Round her waist is
knotted the regulation scarf, aud frills
of red give a finish to her skirt. Her
stockings are of red silk, and a red
silk HANDKERCHIEF is twisted round her
head, the ends knotted in front, dark
ey fashion. Her short English bang
is JUST visible, and a few little ten
drills on the nape of her neck. She is
brown as mahogany, with n small
hand. hard and finn from many q
we.l-fought set on the tennis-ground,
where her service is famous, and her
back-handers dreaded. Under the
growth ofthe smooth skin on ner arms
are muscles which would putyour dude
to the blush. In her movements
there are the buoyancy, the nervous
alertness of perfect health and per.
fectly trained muscles, which make the
Indian the most graceful ofbipeds. As
she walks down the beach, the young
men in striped bathing suits, takingsun
baths OF the sand. or lying on their
faces gossiping. and languidly kicking
their heels. digging wells, or lazily spoon
ing in the discs OF shade cast by tent
like gino hams, jump at sight OF her, and
rush to meet her, She is inclined to be
chummy with them. Just at present
she eschews any attempts at Irritation,
That will be a~llsvery well tonight
when, in white lace gown, witha vel
vet band round her neck to hide where
the brown ends and the white begins,
and a diamond star in her dark hair,
she will betrivolously inclined, putting
on her coquetries with her gloves and
her mothers rings. The present is a
time OF action. not speech. They ask
her to swim with them; challenge her;
bet her, like Cassius and Cesar, that
she can't swim to yonder point"
She accepts the challenge with fine
scorn, and they pick out their choicest
swimmer, o superb young college ath-
lete, n member of his class crew, and
with u record on the ball field He is
n handsome fellow, with arms full of
shadows, emerging rugged and brown
from the shoulders of his blue suit,
and with crisp, short hair, and a Jolly,
boyish laugh. They back him against
her in d race from the raft to the
wharf. Hands areshaken over it, and
odds offered as they stand chatting
on the hard sand, which as the CLASSY
wave slips back, marking its limit with
"a fringe OF bubbles, reflects their stur.
dy legs like a brown mirror. Then a.
way they fly to where the spring-board
is poised temptingly.
The gentleman takes the raft and
the lady the board. For one instant
you see her slim figure, black against
the summer sky, poised with appraised
hands on the end OF the undulating
board. a light as abutterfiy on q bend
ing spire OF grass. Then with a spring
and n flash of red feet, her body de-
scribes an arc through the air, her
BOiiiNCl bii-ttS NlIlhG liit Si6tSSH wa
ter, which divides in two fountains OF
spray, and down, down, down,
through the cool, green depths, she
cleaves her way. The man follows,
and in a second they are up and the
race begins, The oily water ripples
away from their chins in two ever
widening lines. Side by side, his
brown head and her red handkerchief
bob along on the top of the water.
Now she swims on her side, with one
cleaning wet arm shooting forward in
long, swift strokes; then both togeth-
er they glance ahead, sweeping through
the ripples with a steady, regular
forward motion. Suddenly they dis
appear. leaving nothing but a line of
bubbles on the surface, to emerge half
a dozen rods father on, gasping, drip
ping. laughing. j~eering each other.
She Is ahead, swimming on her side
with the top of the red handkerchief
presented to the waves. AS she
makes a little spring forward with
every stroke, she looks back over her
shoulder with a quick, painting laugh,
and a fash of brown eyes The ex'
cited hackers on the wharf cheer lusti-
ly. The collegian makes a squirt, and,
putting as the wavcs in her wake strike
his lips, draws up beside her. The ex-
element grows intense. They seem
TO leap through the water, their bod
les rising and shooting forward with
each powerful, outward sweep of their
arms. The watchers, frantically ex.
cited. rush downthe Shiny steps, cheer
ing and yelling encouragement to their
champions. The champions, painting,
exhausted. scarlet, and bursting with
laughter, make a final, furious squirt,
stretch out their arms, are grasped by
their hackers, and, amid cheers, drawn
up on the steps. On the top of the
flight the Judge, in an abbreviated
blue and white striped garment which
betrays the extreme tenuity of his
lower limbs, stands reiectively rub
bling his peelmg nose, remaking with
solemnity:
"Ah tie, gentlemen! Thelady would
have won, if she hadn't laughed so
much.'
The lady, reclining on the steps, up
to her shoulders in the water, rolls
her eyes scornfully at the judge, being
too breathless to crush him with
speech.